arquebus

American  

[ahr-kwuh-buhs] / ˈɑr kwə bəs /

Also harquebus,

noun

plural

arquebuses

1. any of several small-caliber long guns operated by a matchlock or wheel-lock mechanism, dating from about 1400.

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arquebus British  

/ ˈɑːkwɪbəs /

noun

1. Also called: hackbut.   hagbut.  a portable long-barrelled gun dating from the 15th century: fired by a wheel-lock or matchlock

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Etymology

Origin of arquebus

First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French harquebusche (with intrusive -r- ), from Middle Dutch hākebusse, equivalent to hāke “hook“ + busse “gun” (literally, “box”), from Late Latin buxis for Latin buxus “box tree, boxwood; flute made from boxwood”; see box ¹

Example Sentences

By the fifteenth century, the Janissary corps of the Ottoman Empire were using firearms like the arquebus, an early long gun, in battle.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

FOR all the centuries of refinement that separate a modern rifle from a Renaissance arquebus, the basic idea has not changed.

From Economist • May 7, 2015

Luckier still your being there with your arquebus, else.

From The Honour of Savelli A Romance by Levett-Yeats, S. (Sidney)

Among ancient fire-arms the principal ones were the arquebus, also bombardelle, and the blunderbuss.

From Inventions in the Century by Doolittle, William Henry

"Peradventure he intends to assail the enemy from the tops with musket and arquebus," mused Sir Richard, and he continued to watch his young friend ascending from branch to branch.

From The Golden Galleon BEING A NARRATIVE OF THE ADVENTURES OF MASTER GILBERT OGLANDER, AND OF HOW, IN THE YEAR 1591, HE FOUGHT UNDER THE GALLANT SIR by Leighton, Robert